Prof. Russell J. Hemley
Department of Chemistry and Physics
University of Illinois, Chicago
Normal matter and materials -- the atoms and molecules that make up the gases, liquids, and solids of everyday life -- take on entirely new properties when compressed to the conditions equivalent to those found deep inside planets and other astrophysical bodies. Therein we find entirely new regimes of emergent quantum phenomena arising from the collective many-body interactions of electrons and nuclei. Among the most profound are potentially new states of electron order and enhanced coupling of electrons and nuclei leading to unprecedented superconductivity in the vicinity of room temperature. First envisioned for the ‘simple’ many-body system of proton and electrons – hydrogen atoms, the most abundant element in the cosmos -- the unveiling of this remarkable superconductivity is now well established experimentally at ever-increasing temperatures in a growing variety of chemical environments under pressure. Made possible by important advances in experimental techniques, these developments are leading to the prospects of ‘hot’ superconductivity at ambient conditions, inspiring prospects for both quantum energy technologies of the future as well as for the discovery of still new physical phenomena under pressure.